Interestingly, Democratic Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio did not vote in the Senate Education Committee Tuesday for the Senate substitute for HB 5. Instead, she abstained.

Earlier that day, Van de Putte brought up her concerns that the legislation could lead to fewer poor and minority students getting the skills they need to get on track for college. LULAC, La Raza and Education Trust, groups that represent poor and minority students, made that same point to legislators before the Senate panel took up its rewrite of HB 5.

Van de Putte also proposed an alternative to HB 5's high school degree options. She proposed a "foundation" degree plan that would be a variation of today's 4X4 plan, which requires high school students to have four years of math, science, English and social studies.

Her proposal, which she wanted to become the central degree plan for students, would have included four years of math, science and English, along with three years of social studies. But in those four years of math and science courses, students could have had some flexibility in the classes they take. In other words, they could have taken an applied math course, which would be more aimed at a technical job.

But her amendment was pulled. That may give you a sense of the lay of the land in Austin. She was offering an alternative that would have kept a fairly strong emphasis on science and math but would have given students flexibility. Still, she couldn't get enough buyers.

Van de Putte told me yesterday that she will keep trying to sell her idea to Senate colleagues before the full Senate considers its revision of HB 5. She also told me that she would bring it up for a vote as an amendment on the Senate floor.

That’s encouraging. I’m not sure I’m wild about as much flexibility as she would allow. But she is trying to create a degree plan that resembles the recommended degree plan of today. That’s the one most Texas high school students use as a way to prepare themselves for college or the workforce.

I hope that LULAC, La Raza and Education Trust will continue pushing this significant compromise. And maybe Van de Putte should try to keep the bill from coming to the floor without her amendment.

Under Senate rules, she and 10 other senators can keep a bill from coming to the floor. Maybe I am being too hopeful here, but I would like to think there are 10 other senators who believe that a more flexible 4X4 should become the central degree plan for students.